Honey Badger
Four Fathers Brewing Co.

750 mL bottle from The Beer Store; no dating info - there's a space on the back label for a bottled on date, but it's blank. If it helps any, I bought this in May 2017 and it has been sitting undisturbed in the cellar for virtually all of that time (save for the past day, which it spent in a fridge). Served well chilled.

This self-styled 'French saison' has a cloudy orange-amber complexion, and it's highly effervescent - two inches of puffy white meringue-like foam continues to creep higher, past the rim of the glass, for several minutes more; the result is an impressively long-lasted, lumpy mesa structure. Retention is similarly stellar - gobs of lacing cling to the inside of the glass as the head recedes at its own casual pace, eventually being reduced to a thick, foamy mat. Looks fantastic, with a fragrant aroma to boot - the spearmint leaves impart an herbal, minty note, while the yeast mostly dictates the rest of the nose. Hints of lemon, apricot and pear, with spicy, grassy hops and a flowery note, all of which overlie a muted wheaty sweetness.

A good strong Belgian/French-style ale, though a fair bit more bitter than saisons tend to be, at least in my experience. The sip starts off with grainy pale malts and gritty wheat, which blend together with fruity esters of pear, white grape, apple and apricot. Some lemon rind notes mid-sip are swiftly overtaken by a combination of spicy, floral hop bitterness and a yeasty phenolic note with faint hints of mint leaf and clove. Astringent conclusion which dries out the palate, leaving it ripe for a follow-up sip. Medium in body, with lively carbonation that relentlessly needles the tongue; feels crisp and a bit frothy in the mouth.

Final Grade: 3.79, a worthy B+. Honey Badger French Saison is at least a respectable farmhouse ale - though I must say I'm not getting much honey character out of it. Maybe it all fermented out in the cellar, and that's why the carbonation is so aggressive? Can't say for sure - but on the plus side, I am getting no signs of staleness whatsoever, which is pretty good for a beer that is at least 6-7 months old. Not a world-class saison by any means, but I have no major objections, either - so I'm sure I'll return to this one at some point in the future.